It’s Not Over: More Legal Challenges Loom Over Health Law

Legal challenges on the health law's contraception mandate and a new Medicare panel could make for more health law fireworks.

Politico: More Legal Challenges To ACA On Way
The Supreme Court lawsuit isn't the end of the legal challenges to the health care law -- and the next ones just might help Republicans keep pushing their favorite political hot buttons. The next wave of lawsuits likely wouldn’t put the whole law at stake, as the challenge to the individual mandate could have. But they’re going after pieces of the law that happen to be red meat for many conservative voters -- like the law’s contraception mandate and a new Medicare panel that Republicans call a "rationing board." And one possible legal challenge, which would try to block the feds from offering subsidies in a federal health insurance exchange, is meant to exploit a loophole in the law (Haberkorn, 7/4).

Roll Call: Effort To Overturn Contraceptive Mandate Shifts Focus To Bishops' Advocacy
A Catholic-led fight to overturn contraceptive mandates in the health care law has drawn big dollars, large crowds and prominent GOP backing, raising questions about how aggressively Catholic bishops might wade into politics. … The Catholic bishops have also helped to organize a dozen lawsuits lodged by archdioceses around the country challenging the law's mandate that health care plans include contraceptive services (Newlin Carney, 7/5).

The Hill: House To Hold Hearing On Implications Of Supreme Court Ruling
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing next week on the "tax ramifications" of the Supreme Court's ruling on the health care law. The July 10 hearing will mark the first chance for members of Congress to formally hash out the surprise ruling. ... Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said he disagrees with that ruling -- as did most other Republicans -- and said the hearing would help assess the meaning behind it and inform ways to repeal the bill (Kasperowicz, 7/3).